All eyes were on me—or so it seemed. As my newborn baby cried in the front row at church, my heart started racing and I formed a plan to inconspicuously exit the sanctuary—as if I could. Why am I so concerned about what people think? I wondered. I’m not the only pastor’s wife who has a new, loud baby. But even still, the pressure, whether perceived or real, felt weighty in that moment.
I wonder if you’ve ever felt a similar way. As pastors’ wives, we have both a literal and figurative front-row seat to the life of our local churches and our husbands who shepherd these flocks. While the front-row seat can be exciting, it can sometimes be a lonely place.
How and with whom can we share our struggles and confess our sins? What do we do when we’re going through a spiritually dry season yet are being called to pour into the lives of others? What hope is there for us when we’re home with sick kids for the third week in a row and we’re just tired? What does it look like to prioritize our marriages over our ministries?
These and many others are the questions we aim to answer in “Front Row Seat: Encouragement for Pastors’ Wives”—a 10-episode series from The Gospel Coalition, with guests like Jani Ortlund, Susan Yates, Christine Hoover, Kristie Anyabwile, Irene Sun, and more.
Whether you’ve been a pastor’s wife for decades or you’re just getting started, these conversations were created to encourage you in your role, remind you of your true identity in Christ, and spur you on with hope to continue abiding in Christ—your Good Shepherd. Our prayer is that no matter where you are as you begin watching, you’d leave with a renewed sense of joy and hope in who God is and what he’s doing in, around, and through you.
So, daughter of the King, pastor’s wife, consider this your invitation—we’ve saved you a front-row seat.
